Surely one of the most appetizing aspects of Dana Holgorsen, his arrival and his offense is the idea of fresh starts and equal opportunities in the interest of finding the appropriate number of players. The slates have been wiped clean and the offensive coaches didn’t even bother watching old film of the Mountaineers. They would instead observe and report on their own and form new and unbiased opinions.

Perhaps this is why a Wes Welker or a Joel Filani or even a Justin Blackmon can go from nobody to somebody in a spring or a summer. This is not to say Ryan Nehlen is any of those three, but it’s silly to forget the offense invites anybody, so long as they work hard, minimize mistakes and find ways to be consistently impressive.

Someone might catch 100 passes and somoene might catch 80, but someone can catch 25 and that would be a lot for Nehlen and a lot of guys like him. 

“I really feel like I have a chance to play. I want to help this team every chance I get. I really enjoy the offense. I think it is suited for a player like me,” he said.

And just what does he mean by that?

“I don’t have blazing speed on the outside, but I do know how to get open and I know how to use my different attributes,” he said.

And that is just what offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is looking for.

“[Holgorsen] had different receivers come in without the accolades and perform well for him. That impresses me and makes me look forward to something,” Nehlen said.

Holgorsen is equally impressed with Nehlen, with one interesting exception revealed after Monday’s practice. “The problem with Ryan is he is never here. He takes too many classes. I guess school is important to him. Weekdays he’s here about 30 minutes. We get him on weekends. But he’s been incredibly consistent, one of the more consistent guys we’ve had since Bradley left.”